Sharing neighboring map data across devices

ABSTRACT

A computing device and method are provided for transmitting a relevant subset of map data, called a neighborhood, to enable mutual spatial understanding by multiple display devices around a target virtual location to display a shared hologram in the same exact location in the physical environment at the same moment in time. The computing device may comprise a processor, a memory operatively coupled to the processor, and an anchor transfer program stored in the memory and executed by the processor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/479,200 filed Mar. 30, 2017, the entirety of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

6-DoF tracking, also known as six degrees of freedom tracking, is amethod by which a device (e.g. mixed-reality head-mounted device (HMD),robot, smartphone, etc.) uses sensors (e.g. cameras, inertialmeasurement units, etc.) to determine its position relative to itssurrounding physical environment. For example, a mixed-reality HMD orsmartphone can use this positional understanding to place holograms ordigital content so as to appear to be world-locked to a position in thephysical world, and a robot can use this positional understanding tonavigate itself relative to its surroundings. Recently, scenarios havearisen in which it is useful to have two or more such devices operatingwith a common understanding of their positions relative to a physicalenvironment, and thus relative to each other. As discussed in detailbelow, there are several general approaches to developing this commonunderstanding of positions between such devices, each with significantchallenges recognized by the inventors.

SUMMARY

To address these issues, a computing device and method are provided fortransmitting a relevant subset of map data, called a neighborhood, toenable mutual spatial understanding by multiple display devices around atarget virtual location to display a shared hologram in the same exactlocation in the physical environment at the same moment in time. Thecomputing device may comprise a processor, a memory operatively coupledto the processor, and an anchor transfer program stored in the memoryand executed by the processor.

The anchor transfer program may be configured to receive a request totransfer anchor data of a target virtual place-located anchor at atarget virtual location from a first display device to a second displaydevice. Subsequently, the program may be configured to retrieve andtransmit to the first display device neighboring map data correspondingto the target virtual location. Subsequent to the first display devicetransferring the anchor data and the neighboring map data to the seconddisplay device, the second display device incorporates the neighboringmap data into existing map data of the second display device, and thesecond display displays the one or more holograms to a second user atthe target virtual place-located anchor at the target virtual locationfrom the second user's vantage point based on the incorporated map dataand the existing map data of the second display device. The neighboringmap data is map data of a neighborhood around the target virtuallocation.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore,the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solveany or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a computing device in the form of a head-mounted displaydevice, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an example predictive corrective algorithmfor simultaneous location and mapping by the computing device of FIG. 1within a physical environment.

FIG. 3 is a time series view of data captured by various sensors of thecomputing device of FIG. 1 and processed to generate a series of keyframes linked by a pose graph.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a computing device for generating avirtual place-located anchor and sending neighboring map data accordingto an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows users wearing head-mounted display devices of FIG. 1 in adining room according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows autonomous robots in a warehouse according to anotherexample of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of one embodiment of map data for each of afirst and second display device, the map data for the first displaydevice including neighboring map data of an anchor, according to anexample of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of integrated map data of the second displaydevice which has been formed by receiving a portion of the map data ofthe first display device at the second display device and stitching thisreceived map data together with local map data of the second displaydevice.

FIGS. 9A-B are flow charts of a method of sharing neighboring map datafor a virtual place-located anchor according to two examples of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a computing system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed briefly above, of increasing value is the ability for twoor more devices that use 6-DoF tracking to operate with a commonunderstanding of their positions relative to the physical environment,and thus relative to each other. With this common spatial understanding,devices can interact with each other and the physical environment,enabling scenarios such as the sharing of holograms positioned in theworld, or robots working together. The inventors have recognized thatcurrent approaches to enable two or more devices to align theircoordinates in three-dimensional space have associated drawbacks thatpose barriers to their adoption.

For example, a first approach to tracking device position is known asoutside-in tracking. Outside-in tracking uses sensors external to thedevice in the physical environment to track or help track deviceposition. While this approach can determine position of two or moredevices, it requires positioning sensors external to the device, whichcan be inconvenient or impractical in some situations.

A second approach to tracking device position is known as inside-outtracking. Inside-out tracking is a method by which a display device candetermine its position without the help of external sensors in theenvironment. While this approach has the advantage of not requiringexternal sensors to track position, the position data is determinedwithin each device. Therefore, a challenge remains to coordinatealignment of the devices relative to each other.

One conventional method of attaining 6-DoF coordinate alignment for twoor more inside-out tracking devices is to use identified posters ormarkers as well-understood mutual points of reference in the physicalenvironment, so that each device establishes its position in relation tothese. However, one limitation associated with this poster method isthat the physical environment needs to be changed with each additionalposter, which adds to cost and setup time, and decreases spontaneity.Moreover, if the posters are moved or changed, any common spatialunderstanding between the devices must change with respect to theposters, thereby reducing reliability. This method also limits thephysical scope of the shared coordinates, as the devices need to bewithin operating range of the posters in the physical environment.

Another conventional method is for devices to independently generatemaps that are transmitted to a central server and stitched together toform a common map, which is then retransmitted back to each respectivedevice.

However, this approach has the drawback that it can result in slowtransmission times, as large amounts of data transfer would be requiredover the network to transmit the map from each device to the server, andthen again to transmit the common (stitched) map from the server to eachof the devices. Moreover, the devices that load the common map mayexperience unwanted loss of local map data, since previously existingmap data within each destination device may be overwritten, removed, ordeleted in the course of sharing the common map with all the destinationdevices, and since the common map may not retain with 100% fidelity themap data from each contributing device.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing device 10 in the form of a head mounteddisplay device 10, according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, which has been conceived to address the issues discussedabove. As shown, the computing device 10 includes processor 12, volatilestorage device 14, non-volatile storage device 16, cameras 18, display20, active depth camera 21. The processor 12 is configured to executesoftware programs stored in non-volatile storage device 16 usingportions of volatile storage device 14 to perform the various functionsrecited herein. In one example, the processor 12, volatile storagedevice 14, and non-volatile storage device 16 may be included in asystem-on-chip configuration included in the head mounted display device10. It will be appreciated that the computing device 10 may also takethe form of other types of mobile computing devices, such as, forexample, a smartphone device, a tablet device, a laptop, a machinevision processing unit for an autonomous vehicle, robot, drone, or othertypes of autonomous devices, etc. In the systems described herein,devices in the form of computing device 10 may be utilized as a firstdisplay device and a second display device, as illustrated in FIGS.2-9B, discussed below.

Display 20 is configured to be at least partially see-through, andincludes right and left display regions 20A, 20B which are configured todisplay different images to each eye of the user. By controlling theimages displayed on these right and left display regions 20A, 20B, ahologram 50 may be displayed in a manner so as to appear to the eyes ofthe user to be positioned at a distance from the user within thephysical environment 9. As used herein, a hologram is an image formed bydisplaying left and right images on respective left and right near-eyedisplays that appears due to stereoscopic effects to be positioned at adistance from the user. Typically, holograms are anchored to the map ofthe physical environment by virtual anchors 56, which are placed withinthe map according to their coordinates. These anchors are world-locked,and the holograms are configured to be displayed in a location that iscomputed relative to the anchor. The anchors may be placed in anylocation, but are often placed in positions at locations where featuresexist that are recognizable via machine vision techniques. Typically,the holograms are positioned within a predetermined distance from theanchors, such as within 3 meters in one particular example.

In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of cameras 18are provided on the computing device 10 and are configured to captureimages of the surrounding physical environment of the computing device10. In one embodiment, four cameras 18 are provided, although theprecise number of cameras 18 may vary. The raw images from the cameras18 may be stitched together with perspective correction to form a 360degree view of the physical environment, in some configurations.Typically, cameras 18 are visible light cameras. Images from two or moreof the cameras 18 may be compared to provide an estimate of depth, usingpassive stereo depth estimation techniques.

In addition to visible light cameras 18, a depth camera 21 may beprovided that uses an active non-visible light illuminator 23 andnon-visible light sensor 22 to emit light in a phased or gated mannerand estimate depth using time-of-flight techniques, or to emit light instructured patterns and estimate depth using structured lighttechniques.

Computing device 10 also typically includes a six degree of freedominertial motion unit 19 that includes accelerometers, gyroscopes, andpossibly magnometers configured to measure the position of the computingdevice in six degrees of freedom, namely x, y, z, pitch, roll and yaw.

Data captured by the visible light cameras 18, the depth camera 21, andthe inertial motion unit 19 can be used to perform simultaneous locationand mapping (SLAM) within the physical environment 9, to thereby producea map of the physical environment including a mesh of reconstructedsurfaces, and to locate the computing device 10 within the map of thephysical environment 9. The location of the computing device 10 iscomputed in six degrees of freedom, which is important to displayingworld-locked holograms 50 on the at least partially see through display20. Without an accurate identification of the position and orientationof the computing device 10, holograms 50 that are displayed on thedisplay 20 may appear to slightly move or vibrate relative to thephysical environment, when they should remain in place, in aworld-locked position. This data is also useful in relocating thecomputing device 10 when it is turned on, a process which involvesascertaining its position within the map of the physical environment,and loading in appropriate data from non-volatile memory to volatilememory to display holograms 50 located within the physical environment.

The IMU 19 measures the position and orientation of the computing device10 in six degrees of freedom, and also measures the accelerations androtational velocities. These values can be recorded as a pose graph toaid in tracking the display device 10. Accordingly, even when there arefew visual cues to enable visual tracking, in poorly lighted areas ortexture-less environments for example, accelerometers and gyroscopes canstill enable spatial tracking by the display device 10 in the absence ofvisual tracking. Other components in the display device 10 may includeand are not limited to speakers, microphones, gravity sensors, Wi-Fisensors, temperature sensors, touch sensors, biometric sensors, otherimage sensors, eye-gaze detection systems, energy-storage components(e.g. battery), a communication facility, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates a general overview of one possible SLAM algorithm forsimultaneous location and mapping by computing device 10. According tothe SLAM algorithm, a predictive corrective model 28 is typicallyapplied, which may, for example, be a Kalman filter. In each frame(i.e., timestep), a predicted pose 29 in a next frame is computed basedon odeometry data 19A from IMU 19 by an integration engine 27, and thena correction to the predicted pose 29 is computed by the predictivecorrective model (e.g., Kalman filter) 28 based on estimated andobserved positions of features in the physical environment 9 sensed bysensors such as cameras 18 and depth camera 21, and finally thepredicted pose 29 is updated and an updated pose 33 is fed back to theintegration engine 27, for computing the predicted pose 29 at thesubsequent time step. Additional sensors such as LIDAR, microphonearrays, etc. may also be used to obtain observations of features in theenvironment which may be used to compute the correction and updated poseby the predictive corrective model 28.

Feature descriptors 11A that describe features such as edges, corners,and other patterns that are detectable through image processingtechniques are prestored in a feature library 11 in non-volatile storagedevice 16. Particular observations of features matching featuredescriptors 11A (i.e., feature instances that are detected in a regionof interest of an image) may or may not have anchors 56 collocated withthem (generally most will not, but some may). The location of eachanchors is typically determined by users of the system, but may beprogrammatically determined as well. In real time, images 18A and depthimages 21A are respectively captured by cameras 18 and depth camera 21,and processed by a feature matching engine 13 executed by processor 12to detect whether features matching the prestored feature descriptors11A are present in the captured images 18A, 21A by looking for regionsin the captured images that match the feature descriptors 11A. For eachdetected feature, the location (e.g., coordinate area) and type of thefeature are stored as observation data 17 associated with each frame. Itwill be appreciated that dozens or hundreds of such features matchingthe features descriptors 11A may be recognized in an image, and thecollection of these observations 17 of features may be referred toinformally as a pointcloud of detected features in the image. Further,for at least selected detected features in the image, a patch 15 fromthe image is taken surrounding the selected detected features and storedin memory for later recall. This patch 15 is typically a two-dimensionalarray of pixels or voxels from the region of the captured image, and canbe used in future localization steps when the computing device 10captures images of the selected detected features from another angle, byperforming perspective correction on the patch to determine whether (andwhere) the selected detected features in the perspective corrected patchare present in the subsequent image. The features matching featuredescriptors 11A, observations 17, and patches 15 for each frame arecollectively referred to as feature matching data 13A. The featurematching data 13A typically does not include the depth image 21A or RGBimage data 18A. The feature matching data 13A may be stored innon-volatile or volatile memory for certain of the frames, referred toas keyframes, as discussed below. Together, the pose graph 80, featurematching data 13A, surface reconstruction data 82, and keyframes 84linked by pose graph 80 may collectively be referred to as map data 86.As the computing device 10 moves throughout the physical environment 9,it maps the environment and stores its aggregated knowledge of theenvironment as map data 86. As will be discussed below, sharing of aportion of this aggregated map data with another device, either directlyor through intermediary devices such as a server, can enable otherdevices to more quickly and accurately localize themselves within thephysical environment, saving time and processing power for the otherdevices.

FIG. 3 shows an example schematic representation of data collected bythe cameras 18, depth camera 21, IMU 19, and GPS receiver 25 in thesensor suite of the computing device 10, and processed by the processor12 of the computing device 10. The data points in FIG. 3 are shownarranged along a time axis, where later times are shown to the right ofearlier times. Typically, data is collected periodically from eachsensor, at a sampling rate. The sampling rate of the various sensors isdepicted to be quantized at the same sampling rate in the figure forease of illustration (although in practice the sampling rates maydiffer), and each timestep at which data is sampled from the sensors isreferred to as a frame 546. Thus, in the first frame 546A, second frame546B, and each frame thereafter, image data 18A is collected by cameras18 (four cameras in this example), depth camera data 21A is collectedusing depth camera 21, odeometry data 19A is collected by IMU 19, andGPS data 25A is collected by GPS receiver 25.

The processor 12 may use simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)techniques, discussed above, based on sensor suite inputs include theimage data 18A, depth image data 21A, odeometry data 19A, and GPS data25A to generate pose graph 80, feature matching data 13A, and surfacereconstruction data 82. The pose graph 80 is a directed graph with nodesthat are a series of updated poses 33 detected over time. A pose istypically a unit vector with an origin at a predetermined location (x,y, and z) and extending in a predetermined orientation (pitch, yaw, androll) in the physical space, and is calculated as described in relationto FIG. 2. The origin corresponds to a predetermined fixed location onthe computing device, such as equidistant between the left and rightdisplays, and the unit vector extends outward in at a fixed attitudefrom the display, in a gaze direction of the user. The processor 12typically generates the pose graph 80 in each frame, but alternativelymay generate the pose graph 80 less often, such as every other frame,etc. The surface reconstruction data 82 typically includes a mesh ofdetected surfaces in the physical environment that have been detectedusing depth image data 21A and/or stereoscopic analysis of the imagedata 18A. As discussed above, the feature data 13A typically includesone or more patch, observation, and/or feature descriptor associatedwith each pose of the pose graph 80.

The processor 12 may generate and store in memory key frame data whichincludes a plurality of key frames 84. Each key frame 84 includes onepose of the pose graph 80, and thus the key frames 84 are linked by thepose graph 80. Each key frame 84 further includes the feature matchingdata 13A, which includes one or more (and typically multiple)observations 17, features matching feature descriptors 11A, andassociated patch 15 for that frame. The key frame data may furtherinclude metadata, which may for example include GPS data 25A, odeometrydata 19A, hardware data (e.g., camera lens type), ambient temperature,etc. applicable for the frame. The key frames 84 may be generated at aperiodic interval within the series of successive frames, such as everyother frame, or every 10th frame, etc. Alternatively, key frames 84 maybe generated at a predetermined spatial interval as the computing device10 moves through the physical environment 9, such as every 1 or 2meters.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a server computing device 200interacting with display devices 30 and 34 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. As explained in more detail below, the servercomputing device 200 may be used to generate a virtual place-locatedanchor 56 at a target virtual location. The target virtual location maybe world-locked to a position that is fixed in a three-dimensionalcoordinate space overlaid upon a real world three-dimensionalenvironment. Alternatively, the target virtual location may beworld-locked to a position relative to an object in a real worldthree-dimensional environment. An example hardware configuration for theserver device 200 is described in more detail below with respect to FIG.10.

The server computing device 200 may include an anchor program 214 and ananchor transfer program 216 that may be stored in mass storage 218 ofthe computing device. The anchor program 214 and anchor transfer program216 may be loaded into memory 220 and executed by a processor 260 of theserver computing device 200 to perform one or more of the methods andprocesses for generating a virtual place-located anchor 56 andtransferring anchor data 54 and neighboring map data 58 from a firstdisplay device 30 to a second display device 34, as described in moredetail below. The server computing device 200 may be configured with awireless transceiver 230 that wirelessly communicates with the firstdisplay device 30 and the second display device 34 to receiveinstructions 52 and transfer requests 48 from the display devices andtransmits map data to the display devices. It will be appreciated thatneighboring map data 58 is map data of the neighborhood around thevirtual location where the virtual place-located anchor 56 is situated.The type of map data applied in the present disclosure is notparticularly limited, and will be understood to be any set of data thatcorrelates points in the three-dimensional coordinate space in thephysical environment to information that help orient and locate thedisplay device in the three-dimensional space. One possible embodimentof this map data is described in more detail below with respect to FIG.7, and includes keyframes 60, poses 62, and neighboring anchors 64. Theformat of the anchor data 54 is not particularly limited, and may beencoded as unique string identifiers, which identify the anchor, andcoordinates, which identify the position of the anchor within the map.

The server computing device 200 may be communicatively coupled to one ormore other devices via a wired connection or a wireless connection to anetwork. In some examples, the network may take the form of a local areanetwork (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wired network, wireless network,personal area network, or a combination thereof, and may include theInternet. In the example of FIG. 4, server computing device 200 iscommunicatively coupled to a first display device 30 and a seconddisplay device 34 via one or more networks. In other examples the servercomputing device 200 may be operatively connected with fewer oradditional devices. The display 31 of the first display device 30 andthe display 35 of the second display device 34 may display one or moreholograms at the virtual place-located anchor 56 from the vantage pointsof the respective devices. In some examples, the virtual location of thevirtual place-located anchor 56 may be world-locked to a virtualposition that is fixed in a three-dimensional coordinate space overlaidupon the real world three-dimensional environment. In other examples,the virtual location of the virtual place-located anchor 56 may beworld-locked to a virtual position relative to an object in a real worldthree-dimensional environment.

The processors of the first display device 30 and the second displaydevice 34 execute a common anchor transfer program 38. The first displaydevice 30 stores into local memory a local map data 32, while the seconddisplay device 34 stores into local memory a local map data 36. Thelocal map data may include the recorded rotational and translationalmotions of the display devices tracked by the visual sensors and/orinertial measurement sensors in the display devices. The anchor transferprogram 38 is executed in one of two modes: an export anchor mode and animport anchor mode. In FIG. 4, the first display device 30 is depictedto be executing the export anchor mode of the anchor transfer program38, in which the first display device 30 sends anchor data 54 andserialized neighboring map data 66 to the second display device 34. Thesecond display device 34 is depicted to be executing the import anchormode of the anchor transfer program 38, in which the second displaydevice 34 receives anchor data 54 and serialized neighboring map data 66from another device 30, causing the second display device 34 toeventually incorporate the map data 66 into existing local map data 36of the second display device 34, and causing the display 35 of thesecond display device 34 to display the one or more holograms to asecond user operating the second display device 34 from the vantagepoint of the second user. The first display device 30 and the seconddisplay device 34 may be communicatively coupled to one or more otherdevices via a wired connection or a wireless connection to a network,but the communicative coupling is not particularly limited, and mayencompass any form of data stream, including Wi-Fi, e-mail, externaldata storage devices, cloud storage devices, etc. In some examples, thenetwork may take the form of a local area network (LAN), wide areanetwork (WAN), wired network, wireless network, personal area network,or a combination thereof, and may include the Internet.

With reference to FIG. 5, an example use case illustrating aspects ofthe present disclosure will now be presented. As schematically shown inFIG. 5, a first user 302 may be standing in a dining room 306 wearingthe first display device 30, which in this example may take the form ofHMD device shown in FIG. 1. However, it will be appreciated that thedisplay devices are not particularly limited to HMD devices, and maytake any form that allows users to view hologram images overlaid uponthe real world three-dimensional environment, such as specializedsmartphones and tablet devices, autonomous robots, etc. In someexamples, the autonomous robots may be further configured to alignmovements with one another and with any compatible device, and to worktogether as autonomous systems in aligned coordinate space based onshared map data. As noted above, first display device 30 (HMD device)and the second display device 34 may comprise an at least partiallysee-through display configured to visually augment the views of firstuser 302 and second user 304, respectively, through the display of thereal world three-dimensional environment of the dining room 306. Thefirst display device 30 may generate a virtual model of the dining room306 using a three-dimensional coordinate space overlaid upon the realworld dining room. In the example of FIG. 5, such three-dimensionalcoordinate space is indicated by the x, y, and z axes.

As described in more detail below, the first display device 30 andsecond display device 34 also may include program logic of an anchortransfer program 38 configured to send and receive map data of thedining room 306. In this example, a hologram 50 is projected on a table308 using a target anchor 56 that is on a picture 310. Anotherneighboring anchor 64 for another hologram is located in a clock 312that is in the vicinity of the picture 310. The first user 302 and thesecond user 304 are roaming about the room 306 as they operate the firstdisplay device 30 and the second display device 34, respectively, toview the hologram 50 from various angles in the room 306 from theirrespective vantage points. As the users roam about the room 306, thesensors 18 within the first display device 30 and the second displaydevice 34 capture visual and/or inertial tracking data and thereby trackthe rotational and translational motion of the display devices throughthe sensor devices 18, which observe the three-dimensional rotation andtranslation of the sensor device 18 to be recorded as poses 62A-G andkeyframes 60A-G, which are subsequently stored as local map data 32 andlocal map data 36 in the first display device 30 and the second displaydevice 34, respectively. To help each display device orient itselfwithin the room, the display devices may be configured to observecorners in their environments, such as the four corners of each of thetwo depicted windows, and may use the position of these detected cornersof the windows to correct their estimated position, using the predictivecorrective algorithm of FIG. 2. Thus, one example of local map data thatmay be stored by each device is feature matching data (featureindicators, observations, and patches) indicating the detected cornersof the windows in the room. Of course, it will be appreciated thatcorners of windows are merely one example and many other types of localmap may be gathered. The local map data of each display device may betransmitted to the server computing device 200 to be stored in massstorage 218 of the server computing device 200 to be later retrieved asneighboring map data 58 if the map data corresponds to the target anchor56 that is specified by the transfer request 48. The poses 62A-G andkeyframes 60A-G are described in more detail in FIG. 7.

In the example of FIG. 5, first user 302 may wish to designate a virtuallocation at which to display a hologram 50 of an image of an art piece.To set up the hologram 50, the first user 302 may designate the virtuallocation of the virtual place-located anchor 56 via user input byoperating the first display device 30, which executes an anchor transferprogram 38 to send an instruction 52 to the server computing device 200to generate a virtual place-located anchor 56 at one corner of thepicture 310. The server computing device 200 instantiates an anchorprogram 214 to receive the instruction 52. Responsive to receiving theinstruction 52, the server computing device 200 generates a virtualplace-located anchor 56 on the wall next to the picture 310 and sendsthe anchor data 54 of the anchor 56 back to the first display device 30,which uses the anchor data 54 to view a hologram 50 of an image of theart piece. The hologram 50 has a corresponding virtual place-locatedanchor 56 at a virtual location that is world-locked at a fixed physicalpoint in the three-dimensional coordinate space of the physicalenvironment.

Alternatively, the first display device 30 may programmatically generatean instruction 52 for a virtual place-located anchor 56 at aworld-locked virtual location. For example, the first display device 30may use sensor data to programmatically identify the picture 310 in thedining room 306 as a virtual location to generate a virtualplace-located anchor. In response to identifying the picture 310, thefirst display device 30 may programmatically transmit an instruction 52to computing device 200 to generate a virtual place-located anchor 56 ata world-locked virtual location corresponding to a corner of the picture310.

The first user 302 may desire to share the hologram 50 with a seconduser 304 who is using a second display device 34. In such a case, thefirst user 302 sends a transfer request 48 to the computing device 200to transfer neighboring map data 58 corresponding to a target anchor 56to a second display device 34. In certain embodiments, an originaltransfer request 47 from the second display device 34 to the firstdisplay device 30 may cause the first display device 30 to send thetransfer request 48. The computing device 200 receives the request 48 totransfer neighboring map data 58 corresponding to the target anchor 56.The computing device 200 retrieves, serializes, and sends theneighboring map data 58 to the first display device 30 as serializedneighboring map data 66. The serialization process encodes theneighboring map data 58 into a proprietary format that only thecomputing device 200 can deserialize into a format that is readable tothe display devices executing the anchor transfer program 38. Theserialized neighboring map data 66 may be packaged in the form of abinary file or data stream. The computing device 200 may apply programlogic of the anchor transfer program 216 to define a neighborhood of theanchor 56 to appropriately determine the neighboring map data 58 thatcorresponds to the anchor 56. This neighborhood may include poses 62A-G,keyframes 60A-D, a neighboring anchor 64 in the vicinity of the targetanchor 56. The neighboring map data 58 is further illustrated anddescribed in FIG. 7.

The first display device 30 receives the serialized neighboring map data66, then sends the anchor data 54 and serialized neighboring map data 66to the second display device 34. The second display device 34 receivesthe anchor data 54 and serialized neighboring map data 66, then sendsthe serialized neighboring map data 66 to the computing device 200. Thecomputing device 200 receives the serialized neighboring map data 66,then deserializes the neighboring map data 58 and sends the deserializedneighboring map data 68 back to the second display device 34. The seconddisplay device 34 receives the deserialized neighboring map data 68, andthen stitches the deserialized neighboring map data 68 into the localmap data 36 stored in the second display device 34 to create anintegrated map data. The second display device 34 uses the integratedmap data to render the hologram 50 image on the display 35 of the seconddisplay device 34. The stitching process may involve combining ormerging two sets of map data into one set of map data by applying acommon global coordinate system corresponding to the three-dimensionalcoordinate space of the physical environment.

Turning to FIG. 6, another example use case illustrating aspects of thepresent disclosure with respect to autonomous robots will now bepresented. Since the differences between the example use cases of FIGS.5 and 6 mainly concern differences in the display devices and theholograms, the detailed description of the sharing of map data and theserver computing device 200 is abbreviated for the sake of brevity. Itis noted that like parts are designated by like reference numeralsthroughout the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. Asshown in FIG. 6, a first robot 30 and a second robot 34 may bepositioned in a warehouse 406. As the robots roam about the warehouse406, the sensors 18 within the first robot 30 and the second robot 34capture visual and/or inertial tracking data and thereby track therotational and translational motion of the robots through the sensordevices 18, which observe the three-dimensional rotation and translationof the sensor device 18 to be recorded as poses 62A-G and keyframes60A-G, which are subsequently stored as local map data 32 and local mapdata 36 in the first robot 30 and the second robot 34, respectively. Tohelp each robot orient itself within the warehouse 406, the robots 30and 34 may be configured to observe features within their environments,such as the pillars 412 and racks 410 within the warehouse 406, and mayuse the position of these detected features to correct their estimatedposition, using the predictive corrective algorithm of FIG. 2.

The robots 30 and 34 may generate a virtual model of the warehouse 406using a three-dimensional coordinate space overlaid upon the real worldwarehouse 406. In this example, included in this virtual model is ahologram 50 that is anchored by a target anchor 56 that is on a rack410. Another neighboring anchor 64 for another hologram is located on apillar 412. With respect to the robots 30 and 34, the hologram 50 maynot necessarily be embodied as images to be displayed by the robots, butmay instead be embodied as virtual objects and/or virtual spaces thatmultiple robots can render and interact with during operation. Forexample, the hologram 50 may be embodied as a predetermined destinationspace to which a robot may be instructed to move, a predetermined workspace where a robot may interact with objects, or alternatively as apredetermined prohibited space that a robot may be instructed to avoid.

When the first robot 30 shares the hologram 50 and neighboring map datawith the second robot 34, the second robot 34 receives the deserializedneighboring map data and stitches the deserialized neighboring map datainto the local map data 36 stored in the second robot 34 to create anintegrated map data. The second robot 34 uses the integrated map data toincorporate the hologram 50 into the virtual model of the warehouse 406that is stored in the second robot 34, so that the hologram 50 andneighboring map data of the target anchor 56 are shared in the virtualmodels of both robots 30 and 34. Accordingly, the autonomous robots 30and 34 can align movements with one another and to work together asautonomous systems in aligned coordinate space based on shared map data,among which is the neighboring map data of the target anchor 56. Thesealigned movements may help avoid collisions with one another and withobstacles within the warehouse 406, as well as aid in performingoperations that require the coordination and cooperation of multiplerobots, especially in the fields of manufacturing and logistics. Forexample, the hologram 50 may represent a predetermined space for thefirst robot 30 to drop off an object, which is later picked up by thesecond robot 34. In another example, the hologram 50 may represent apredetermined space that the first robot 30 has already cleaned, and thefirst robot 30 may share the hologram 50 and neighboring map data to thesecond robot 34 to instruct the second robot 34 to avoid cleaning thepredetermined space that the first robot 30 has already cleaned.

Turning to FIG. 7, one possible embodiment of the map data applied inthe present disclosure is discussed in more detail. The information forthe map data may be generated by at least a sensor device in a pluralityof display devices sending sensor data, including the rotational andtranslational motion tracked by the sensor device, to the computingdevice 200 in sets that are configured as keyframes 60A-Q and posegraphs 80A, 80B, linking poses 62A-I and 62J-T, respectively. Here, twodisplay devices and their keyframes and pose graphs are depicted, butother embodiments may feature three or more display devices in closeproximity to each other, each with their own trajectories of key framesand pose graphs. Also contained in the map data are a plurality ofvirtual place-located anchors, including the target anchor 56 and aneighboring anchor 64 at world-locked virtual locations with knownthree-dimensional coordinates in the physical environment. These anchorsmay include visibly conspicuous features in the physical environment,such as the picture 310 and clock 312 illustrated in FIG. 5. Poses62A-T, depicted as small arrows in the pose graphs 80A, 80B, aretypically unit vectors that point in the direction of a fixedstraight-ahead gaze out of the display of display device, as describedabove, and the pose graphs record the position of the poses inthree-dimensional space over time. Individual keyframes 60A-G are linkedto each other in pose graph 80A, which links poses 62A-I, whilekeyframes 6011-Q are linked to each other in pose graph 80B, which linksposes 62J-T. The pose graphs thus include plurality of such poses linkedto each other in a directed graph so as to track the changes in pose asthe display devices travel through the three-dimensional coordinatespace of the physical environment. The pose graphs 80A and 80B each forma linear trajectory of map data that the display devices leave behind tostore as local map data and subsequently sends to the server computingdevice 200 for compilation and analysis as map data as the displaydevice travels through three-dimensional coordinate space over time.

Keyframes 60A-Q contain sets of information that can be used to improvethe ability of the display device to ascertain its location, and thushelp render holograms in stable locations. As discussed above, examplesof data included in keyframes 60A-Q include metadata, observations andpatches, and/or image feature descriptors. Metadata may include theextrinsic data of the camera, the time when keyframe was taken, gravitydata, temperature data, magnetic data, calibration data, globalpositioning data, etc. Observations and patches may provide informationregarding detected feature points in a captured image, such as cornersand high contrast color changes that help correct the estimation of theposition and orientation of the display device, and accordingly helpbetter align and position the display of a holographic image via display20 in three-dimensional space. Image feature descriptors may be featurepoints, sometimes efficiently represented in a small data set, in someexamples as small as 32 bytes, that are used the feature matching engine13 described above to quickly recognize features in the real timecaptured images 18A and depth images 21A, to accurately estimate theposition of the display device, and thus accurately render the hologramon the map of the physical environment. In yet other examples, keyframes60A-Q may include Wi-Fi fingerprints representing properties of Wi-Fibeacons emitted by surrounding Wi-Fi access points, such as MACaddresses, SSIDs, and measured signal strengths.

Pose graphs 80A, 80B interlinking the keyframes may be a plurality ofcontinuously connected poses communicating how much rotation andtranslation in three-dimensional space the display device undergoesbetween keyframes over time. Multiple anchors may be interlinked witheach other via pose 62A-T. It will be appreciated that, the geometricrelationship between a display device and a hologram for a givenkeyframe may be computed by first computing the distance between thecurrent pose of the device and the anchor associated with the hologram,and then computing the distance between the anchor and the hologramitself.

When there is a predetermined virtual place-based anchor 56 that isknown to the first display device 30 but unknown to the second displaydevice 34, and the first display device 30 wishes to share this virtualplace-based anchor 56 with the second display device 34, the servercomputing device 200 merely packages neighboring map data 58 surroundingthe target virtual place-based anchor 56, packaging merely a subset ofthe anchors 56 and 64, poses 62A-T, and keyframes 60A-Q in the entireroom which corresponds to a neighborhood. In the example depicted inFIG. 7, this subset includes anchors 56 and 64 and keyframes 60D-G andposes 62D-I for the first display device 30, and keyframes 60H-J andposes 62J-L for the second display device 34. In this example, theneighborhood of the neighboring map data has been defined to be theanchors, keyframes, and poses that fall within a predetermined distanceof the target anchor 56. However, it will be appreciated that theneighborhood can be arbitrarily defined to encompass any shape or sizeof three-dimensional space surrounding or proximate to the target anchor56, including neighborhoods that may not necessarily include the targetanchor 56 itself.

Referring to FIG. 8, the packaged neighboring map data is serialized andsent to the first display device 30, which is relayed to the seconddisplay device 34 and ultimately to the computing device 200, whichdeserializes the neighboring map data to be integrated into the localmap data of the second display device 34, which includes keyframes 60H-Qand poses 62J-T. The integration of the neighboring map data into thelocal map data of the second display device 34, which is performed bythe computing device 200 or the second display device 34, proceeds via amap stitching process illustrated in FIG. 8. It will be appreciated thatthe map stitching is performed by connecting pose graphs 80A and 80B ofthe two map data sets together, determining the spatial relationship ofat least one point on pose graph 80A relative to at least one point onpose graph 80B, for example. For example, if there is at least onesingle anchor with spatial relationships that are already known relativeto both pose graphs, then the spatial relationships of the two posegraphs relative to each other can be calculated by using the singleanchor as a reference point. In this illustrated example, a pose 62F onpose graph 80A is known with reference to anchor 56, as well as a pose62L on pose graph 80B with reference to the same anchor 56. Accordingly,anchor 56 can be used as the basis to connect pose graph 80A to posegraph 80B. Alternatively, map stitching may be performed if a pose graphconnecting two anchors is known, and the two pose graphs arerespectively connected to the two anchors. In this illustrated example,since the pose 62F on pose graph 80A is known with reference to anchor56, the pose 62M on pose graph 80B is known with reference to anchor 64,and a pose graph 80C establishing the spatial relationship betweenanchors 56 and 64 is known, the spatial relationship between pose graphs80A and 80B can be established using poses 62F and 62M as well as posegraph 80C. The integrated map containing both the neighboring map dataand the local map data is then used to render the hologram image in thesame location from the different vantage points of the first and secondusers at the same time. Accordingly, there is no need to copy or loadthe entire map of the room from another device or server. The local mapdata remains in place, with existing coordinates and map data intact topreserve any pre-existing content placement, thereby limiting local dataloss. The computation of the neighboring map data can be flexiblyoptimized for various scenarios, and users can share multiple virtualplace-based anchors, not being limited to one particular physicallocation. In addition, no external ‘posters’ or ‘markers’ are requiredin the physical environment to transfer the neighboring map data, so noexternal sensor setup is required.

FIG. 9A illustrates a flow chart of a first method 600 for generating avirtual place-located anchor at which holograms may be viewed accordingto an example of the present disclosure. The following description ofmethod 600 is provided with reference to the software and hardwarecomponents described above and shown in FIGS. 1-10. It will beappreciated that method 600 also may be performed in other contextsusing other suitable hardware and software components.

With reference to FIG. 9A, at 602 the method 600 may include the firstdisplay device sending an instruction to generate a virtualplace-located anchor at a virtual location that is world-locked. At 604,the server computing device receives the instruction to generate thevirtual place-located anchor at the world-locked virtual location,generates the anchor comprising anchor data, and sends the anchor datato the first display device 200. At 606, the first display devicereceives the anchor data. At 609, the second display device sends arequest to the first display device to transfer neighboring map data tothe second display device. In response, at 610, the first display devicesends a request to the server computing device to transfer neighboringmap data to the second display device. At 612, the server computingdevice receives the request to transfer neighboring map data.Subsequently, the server computing device retrieves, serializes, andsends the neighboring map data including the anchor to the first displaydevice. At 614, the first display device receives the serializedneighboring map data including the anchor. At 616, the first displaydevice sends the anchor data and serialized neighboring map data to thesecond display device. At 620 the second display device receives theanchor data and serialized neighboring map data. At 622 the seconddisplay device sends the serialized neighboring map data to the servercomputing device. At 626 the server computing device receives theserialized neighboring map data. Subsequently, the server computingdevice deserializes the neighboring map data and sends the deserializedneighboring map data back to the second display device. At 628 thesecond display device receives the deserialized neighboring map data. At630 the second display device stitches the deserialized neighboring mapdata into the local map data stored in the second display device tocreate an integrated map data. At 632 the second display devicedetermines its pose with predictive corrective localization based onfeature matching data in the keyframes in the integrated map. At 634 thesecond display uses the determined pose and integrated map data torender the hologram image on the display of the second display device.

FIG. 9B illustrates a flow chart of a second method 700 for generating avirtual place-located anchor at which holograms may be viewed accordingto an example of the present disclosure. The following description ofmethod 700 is provided with reference to the software and hardwarecomponents described above and shown in FIGS. 1-10. It will beappreciated that method 700 also may be performed in other contextsusing other suitable hardware and software components.

With reference to FIG. 9B, at 702 the method 700 may include the firstdisplay device sending an instruction to generate a virtualplace-located anchor at a virtual location that is world-locked. At 704the server computing device receives the instruction to generate thevirtual place-located anchor at the world-locked virtual location. At706 the server computing device generates the anchor and sends anchordata to the first display device. At 708 the first display devicereceives the anchor data. At 710 the first display device sends arequest to the computing device to transfer neighboring map data to asecond display device. Optionally at 711, the second display devicesends a request to the first display device to transfer neighboring mapdata to the second display device. At 712 the server computing devicereceives the request to transfer neighboring map data. At 714 the servercomputing device retrieves and sends the neighboring map data, includingthe anchor, to the first display device. At 716 the first display devicereceives the neighboring map data including the anchor. At 718 the firstdisplay device sends the anchor data and neighboring map data to thesecond display device. At 720 the second display device receives theanchor data and neighboring map data. At 722 the second display devicestitches the neighboring map data into the local map data stored in thesecond display device to create an integrated map data. At 724 thesecond display device determines its pose with predictive correctivelocalization based on feature matching data in the keyframes in theintegrated map. At 726 the second display device uses the determinedpose and integrated map data to render the hologram image on the displayof the second display device.

It will be appreciated that methods 600 and 700 are provided by way ofexample and is not meant to be limiting. Therefore, it is to beunderstood that methods 600 and 700 may include additional and/oralternative steps relative to those illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B.Further, it is to be understood that methods 600 and 700 may beperformed in any suitable order. Further still, it is to be understoodthat one or more steps may be omitted from methods 600 and 700 withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. For example, theserialization and deserialization may be performed by the first displaydevice, second display device, and/or the server computing device.Anchor generation may be performed by the first display device, seconddisplay device, and/or the server computing device. Further, thestitching of the neighboring map data into the local map of the seconddisplay device to generate an integrated map data may alternatively beperformed by the server computing device.

In summary, when establishing a shared coordinate is desired (e.g. toposition a shared hologram in the three-dimensional physical environmentthat is properly viewed by two users at the same time from the differentvantage points of the two users in the same location), a location ofinterest (e.g. virtual place-based anchor) is specified by the firstdisplay device, and neighboring map data around the virtual place-basedanchor is constructed with most relevant map information. Thisneighborhood of relevant data is then packaged (exported) and sharedwith a second display device, and added (imported) to the local map ofthe second display device. Then as 6-DoF tracking continues to run onthe second display device to leave behind a trajectory of linear mapdata that is stored as local map data, as the newly shared neighboringmap data is observed by the sensors of the first display device in thereal world, the shared neighboring map data is stitched into theexisting local map of the second device, creating an integrated map withthe newly shared location (virtual place-based anchor) relative topreexisting locations (anchors).

In some embodiments, the methods and processes described herein may betied to a computing system of one or more computing devices. Inparticular, such methods and processes may be implemented as acomputer-application program or service, an application-programminginterface (API), a library, and/or other computer-program product.

FIG. 10 schematically shows a non-limiting embodiment of a computingsystem 900 that can enact one or more of the methods and processesdescribed above. Computing system 900 is shown in simplified form.Computing system 900 may embody the computing device 10 of FIG. 1 or theserver computing device 200 of FIG. 4. Computing system 900 may take theform of one or more personal computers, server computers, tabletcomputers, home-entertainment computers, network computing devices,gaming devices, mobile computing devices, mobile communication devices(e.g., smartphone), and/or other computing devices, and wearablecomputing devices such as smart wristwatches and head mounted augmentedreality devices.

Computing system 900 includes a logic processor 902 volatile memory 904,and a non-volatile storage device 906. Computing system 900 mayoptionally include a display subsystem 908, input subsystem 910,communication subsystem 912, and/or other components not shown in FIG.10.

Logic processor 902 includes one or more physical devices configured toexecute instructions. For example, the logic processor may be configuredto execute instructions that are part of one or more applications,programs, routines, libraries, objects, components, data structures, orother logical constructs. Such instructions may be implemented toperform a task, implement a data type, transform the state of one ormore components, achieve a technical effect, or otherwise arrive at adesired result.

The logic processor may include one or more physical processors(hardware) configured to execute software instructions. Additionally oralternatively, the logic processor may include one or more hardwarelogic circuits or firmware devices configured to executehardware-implemented logic or firmware instructions. Processors of thelogic processor 902 may be single-core or multi-core, and theinstructions executed thereon may be configured for sequential,parallel, and/or distributed processing. Individual components of thelogic processor optionally may be distributed among two or more separatedevices, which may be remotely located and/or configured for coordinatedprocessing. Aspects of the logic processor may be virtualized andexecuted by remotely accessible, networked computing devices configuredin a cloud-computing configuration. In such a case, these virtualizedaspects are run on different physical logic processors of variousdifferent machines, it will be understood.

Non-volatile storage device 906 includes one or more physical devicesconfigured to hold instructions executable by the logic processors toimplement the methods and processes described herein. When such methodsand processes are implemented, the state of non-volatile storage device906 may be transformed—e.g., to hold different data.

Non-volatile storage device 906 may include physical devices that areremovable and/or built-in. Non-volatile storage device 906 may includeoptical memory (e.g., CD, DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray Disc, etc.),semiconductor memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH memory, etc.),and/or magnetic memory (e.g., hard-disk drive, floppy-disk drive, tapedrive, MRAM, etc.), or other mass storage device technology.Non-volatile storage device 906 may include nonvolatile, dynamic,static, read/write, read-only, sequential-access, location-addressable,file-addressable, and/or content-addressable devices. It will beappreciated that non-volatile storage device 906 is configured to holdinstructions even when power is cut to the non-volatile storage device906.

Volatile memory 904 may include physical devices that include randomaccess memory. Volatile memory 904 is typically utilized by logicprocessor 902 to temporarily store information during processing ofsoftware instructions. It will be appreciated that volatile memory 904typically does not continue to store instructions when power is cut tothe volatile memory 904.

Aspects of logic processor 902, volatile memory 904, and non-volatilestorage device 906 may be integrated together into one or morehardware-logic components. Such hardware-logic components may includefield-programmable gate arrays (FP GAs), program- andapplication-specific integrated circuits (PASIC/ASICs), program- andapplication-specific standard products (PSSP/ASSPs), system-on-a-chip(SOC), and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), for example.

The terms “module,” “program,” and “engine” may be used to describe anaspect of computing system 900 typically implemented in software by aprocessor to perform a particular function using portions of volatilememory, which function involves transformative processing that speciallyconfigures the processor to perform the function. Thus, a module,program, or engine may be instantiated via logic processor 902 executinginstructions held by non-volatile storage device 906, using portions ofvolatile memory 904. It will be understood that different modules,programs, and/or engines may be instantiated from the same application,service, code block, object, library, routine, API, function, etc.Likewise, the same module, program, and/or engine may be instantiated bydifferent applications, services, code blocks, objects, routines, APIs,functions, etc. The terms “module,” “program,” and “engine” mayencompass individual or groups of executable files, data files,libraries, drivers, scripts, database records, etc.

When included, display subsystem 908 may be used to present a visualrepresentation of data held by non-volatile storage device 906. Thevisual representation may take the form of a graphical user interface(GUI). As the herein described methods and processes change the dataheld by the non-volatile storage device, and thus transform the state ofthe non-volatile storage device, the state of display subsystem 908 maylikewise be transformed to visually represent changes in the underlyingdata. Display subsystem 908 may include one or more display devicesutilizing virtually any type of technology. Such display devices may becombined with logic processor 902, volatile memory 904, and/ornon-volatile storage device 906 in a shared enclosure, or such displaydevices may be peripheral display devices.

When included, input subsystem 910 may comprise or interface with one ormore user-input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or gamecontroller. In some embodiments, the input subsystem may comprise orinterface with selected natural user input (NUI) componentry. Suchcomponentry may be integrated or peripheral, and the transduction and/orprocessing of input actions may be handled on- or off-board. Example NUIcomponentry may include a microphone for speech and/or voicerecognition; an infrared, color, stereoscopic, and/or depth camera formachine vision and/or gesture recognition; a head tracker, eye tracker,accelerometer, and/or gyroscope for motion detection and/or intentrecognition; as well as electric-field sensing componentry for assessingbrain activity; and/or any other suitable sensor.

When included, communication subsystem 912 may be configured tocommunicatively couple various computing devices described herein witheach other, and with other devices. Communication subsystem 912 mayinclude wired and/or wireless communication devices compatible with oneor more different communication protocols. As non-limiting examples, thecommunication subsystem may be configured for communication via awireless telephone network, or a wired or wireless local- or wide-areanetwork, such as Bluetooth and HDMI over Wi-Fi connection. In someembodiments, the communication subsystem may allow computing system 900to send and/or receive messages to and/or from other devices via anetwork such as the Internet.

The following paragraphs provide additional support for the claims ofthe subject application. One aspect provides a server computing devicecomprising a processor, a non-volatile storage device operativelycoupled to the processor, and an anchor transfer program stored in thenon-volatile storage device and executed by the processor of thecomputing device, the anchor transfer program being configured toreceive a request to transfer anchor data of a target virtualplace-located anchor at a target virtual location from a first displaydevice to a second display device; retrieve and transmit to the seconddisplay device neighboring map data corresponding to the target virtuallocation, the neighboring map data being map data of a neighborhood in avicinity around the target virtual location; cause the second displaydevice to incorporate the neighboring map data into existing map data ofthe second display device; and cause the second display to display theone or more holograms at the target virtual place-located anchor at thetarget virtual location from the second user's vantage point based onthe incorporated map data and the existing map data of the seconddisplay device. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, thecomputing device may further comprise an anchor program stored in thememory and executed by the processor of the computing device, the anchortransfer program being configured to receive an instruction from thefirst display device to generate the target virtual place-located anchorat the target virtual location; generate the target anchor at theworld-locked target virtual location; and send the target anchor to thefirst display device. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, theanchor transfer program may be configured to transmit to the firstdisplay device neighboring map data in a serialized format; and thesecond display device may receive the neighboring map data in adeserialized format. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, thetarget virtual location may be world-locked to a position that is fixedin a three-dimensional coordinate space overlaid upon a real worldthree-dimensional environment. In this aspect, additionally oralternatively, the target virtual location may be world-locked to aposition relative to an object in a real world three-dimensionalenvironment. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, theneighboring map data may comprise keyframes and at least a portion of apose-graph describing rotational and translational motion of the displaydevices through a real world three-dimensional environment. In thisaspect, additionally or alternatively, the computing device may furthercomprise visual sensors and/or inertial measurement sensors, the visualsensors and/or inertial measurement sensors tracking the rotational andtranslational motion of the display devices for the keyframes andpose-graphs. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, thekeyframes may comprise at least one of a fingerprint of a Wi-Fi beacon,gravity data, temperature data, global positioning data, and calibrationdata.

Another aspect provides a method comprising receiving a request totransfer anchor data of a target virtual place-located anchor at atarget virtual location from a first display device to a second displaydevice; retrieving and transmitting map data to the first display deviceneighboring map data corresponding to the target virtual location; andsubsequent to the first display device transferring anchor data and theneighboring map data to the second display device, causing the seconddisplay device to incorporate the neighboring map data into existing mapdata of the second display device, and causing the second display todisplay the one or more holograms to a second user at the target virtualplace-located anchor at the target virtual location from the seconduser's vantage point based on the incorporated map data and the existingmap data of the second display device, the neighboring map data beingmap data of a neighborhood around the target virtual location. In thisaspect, additionally or alternatively, the method may further comprisereceiving an instruction from the first display device to generate thetarget virtual place-located anchor at the target virtual location; andgenerating the target anchor at the world-locked target virtual locationand sending the target anchor to the first display device. In thisaspect, additionally or alternatively, the neighboring map data may betransmitted to the first display device in a serialized format, and thesecond display device may receive the neighboring map data in adeserialized format. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, thetarget virtual location may be world-locked to a position that is fixedin a three-dimensional coordinate space overlaid upon a real worldthree-dimensional environment. In this aspect, additionally oralternatively, the target virtual location may be world-locked to aposition relative to an object in a real world three-dimensionalenvironment. In this aspect, additionally or alternatively, theneighboring map data may comprise keyframes and pose-graphs recordingrotational and translational motion of the display devices through areal world three-dimensional environment. In this aspect, additionallyor alternatively, visual sensors and/or inertial measurement sensors maytrack the rotational and translational motion of the display devices forthe keyframes and pose-graphs. In this aspect, additionally oralternatively, the keyframes may comprise at least one of a fingerprintof a Wi-Fi beacon, gravity data, temperature data, global positioningdata, and calibration data.

Another aspect provides a first computing device operated by a firstuser, networked with a second computing device and a third computingdevice, the first computing device comprising a processor; a memoryoperatively coupled to the processor and storing local map data of thefirst computing device; a first display operatively coupled to thememory and the processor; and an anchor transfer program stored in thememory and executed by the processor to be configured to receive firstanchor data causing the first display to display one or more hologramsto the first user at a first virtual place-located anchor at a firsttarget virtual location from the first user's vantage point, and furtherconfigured to execute an export anchor mode; in the export anchor mode,the anchor transfer program being configured to receive firstneighboring map data of a neighborhood around the first target virtuallocation; and send the first anchor data and the first neighboring mapdata to a second computing device, operated by a second user, therebycausing the second display to display the one or more holograms at thefirst virtual place-located anchor at the first target virtual locationfrom the second user's vantage point based on the first neighboring mapdata and the local map data of the second computing device. In thisaspect, additionally or alternatively, the anchor transfer program mayfurther be configured to execute an import anchor mode; in the importanchor mode, the anchor transfer program being configured to receive,from a third computing device, second neighboring map data of aneighborhood around a second target virtual location; integrate thesecond neighboring map data into the local map data of the firstcomputing device to create an integrated map data, and cause the firstdisplay to display the one or more holograms at the second virtualplace-located anchor at the second target virtual location from thefirst user's vantage point based on the integrated map data.

It will be understood that the configurations and/or approachesdescribed herein are exemplary in nature, and that these specificembodiments or examples are not to be considered in a limiting sense,because numerous variations are possible. The specific routines ormethods described herein may represent one or more of any number ofprocessing strategies. As such, various acts illustrated and/ordescribed may be performed in the sequence illustrated and/or described,in other sequences, in parallel, or omitted. Likewise, the order of theabove-described processes may be changed.

The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel andnon-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of the various processes,systems and configurations, and other features, functions, acts, and/orproperties disclosed herein, as well as any and all equivalents thereof.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A server computing device, comprising: aprocessor; a non-volatile storage device operatively coupled to theprocessor; and an anchor transfer program stored in the non-volatilestorage device and executed by the processor of the computing device,wherein the anchor transfer program is configured to: receive a transferrequest from a first display device to transfer anchor data of a targetvirtual place-located anchor of one or more holograms at a targetvirtual location to a second display device, the transfer requestinitiated by a user via the first display device and specifying thetarget virtual place-located anchor, the anchor data comprisingneighboring map data corresponding to the target virtual location forthe specified target virtual place-located anchor, the neighboring mapdata being map data of a neighborhood in a vicinity around the targetvirtual location including pose graphs created by sensor measurementsperformed by the first display device; retrieve and transmit the anchordata to the second display device responsive to the transfer request;cause the second display device to incorporate, via a stitching process,the neighboring map data into existing map data of the second displaydevice, the stitching process including stitching together the posegraphs of the neighboring map data created by the first display deviceand the existing map data of the second display device by applying acommon global coordinate system corresponding to an alignedthree-dimensional coordinate space of the neighborhood; and cause thesecond display device to display the one or more holograms at the targetvirtual place-located anchor at the target virtual location from avantage point of the second display device based on the incorporated mapdata and the existing map data of the second display device.
 2. Theserver computing device of claim 1, further comprising: an anchorprogram stored in the non-volatile storage device and executed by theprocessor of the computing device, wherein the anchor program isconfigured to: receive an instruction from the first display device togenerate the target virtual place-located anchor at the target virtuallocation; generate the target virtual place-located anchor at the targetvirtual location; and send the target virtual place-located anchor tothe first display device.
 3. The server computing device of claim 1,wherein the anchor transfer program is configured to transmit to thefirst display device neighboring map data in a serialized format; andthe second display device receives the neighboring map data in adeserialized format.
 4. The server computing device of claim 1, whereinthe target virtual location is world-locked to a position that is fixedin a three-dimensional coordinate space overlaid upon a real worldthree-dimensional environment.
 5. The server computing device of claim1, wherein the target virtual location is world-locked to a positionrelative to an object in a real world three-dimensional environment. 6.The server computing device of claim 1, wherein the neighboring map datacomprises keyframes and at least a portion of pose-graphs describingrotational and translational motion of the display devices through areal world three-dimensional environment.
 7. The server computing deviceof claim 6, further comprising: visual sensors and/or inertialmeasurement sensors, wherein the visual sensors and/or inertialmeasurement sensors track the rotational and translational motion of thedisplay devices for the keyframes and the at least a portion ofpose-graphs.
 8. The server computing device of claim 6, wherein thekeyframes comprise at least one of a fingerprint of a Wi-Fi beacon,gravity data, temperature data, global positioning data, and calibrationdata.
 9. A method, comprising: receiving a transfer request from a firstdisplay device to transfer anchor data of a target virtual place-locatedanchor of one or more holograms at a target virtual location to a seconddisplay device, the transfer request initiated by a user via the firstdisplay device and specifying the target virtual place-located anchor,the anchor data comprising neighboring map data corresponding to thetarget virtual location for the specified target virtual place-locatedanchor, the neighboring map data being map data of a neighborhood in avicinity around the target virtual location including pose graphscreated by sensor measurements performed by the first display device;retrieving and transmitting the anchor data to the second display deviceresponsive to the transfer request; and subsequent to the first displaydevice transferring anchor data to the second display device, causingthe second display device to incorporate, via a stitching process, theneighboring map data into existing map data of the second displaydevice, and causing the second display device to display the one or moreholograms at the target virtual place-located anchor at the targetvirtual location from a vantage point of the second display device basedon the incorporated map data and the existing map data of the seconddisplay device, the stitching process including stitching together thepose graphs of the neighboring map data created by the first displaydevice and the existing map data of the second display device byapplying a common global coordinate system corresponding to an alignedthree-dimensional coordinate space of the neighborhood.
 10. The methodof claim 9, further comprising: receiving an instruction from the firstdisplay device to generate the target virtual place-located anchor atthe target virtual location; generating the target virtual place-locatedanchor at the target virtual location; and sending the target virtualplace-located anchor to the first display device.
 11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the neighboring map data is transmitted to the firstdisplay device in a serialized format, and the second display devicereceives the neighboring map data in a deserialized format.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the target virtual location is world-lockedto a position that is fixed in a three-dimensional coordinate spaceoverlaid upon a real world three-dimensional environment.
 13. The methodof claim 9, wherein the target virtual location is world-locked to aposition relative to an object in a real world three-dimensionalenvironment.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the neighboring map datacomprises keyframes and pose-graphs recording rotational andtranslational motion of the display devices through a real worldthree-dimensional environment.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinvisual sensors and/or inertial measurement sensors track the rotationaland translational motion of the display devices for the keyframes andpose-graphs.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the keyframes compriseat least one of a fingerprint of a Wi-Fi beacon, gravity data,temperature data, global positioning data, and calibration data.
 17. Aserver computing device, comprising: a processor; a non-volatile storagedevice operatively coupled to the processor; and an anchor transferprogram stored in the non-volatile storage device and executed by theprocessor of the computing device, wherein the anchor transfer programis configured to: receive a transfer request from a first display deviceto transfer anchor data of a target virtual place-located anchor of oneor more holograms at a target virtual location to a second displaydevice, the transfer request initiated by a user via the first displaydevice and specifying the target virtual place-located anchor, theanchor data comprising neighboring map data corresponding to the targetvirtual location for the specified target virtual place-located anchor,the neighboring map data being map data of a neighborhood in a vicinityaround the target virtual location including pose graphs created bysensor measurements performed by the first display device; retrieve andtransmit the anchor data to the second display device responsive to thetransfer request; cause the second display device to incorporate, via astitching process, the neighboring map data into existing map data ofthe second display device, the stitching process including stitchingtogether the pose graphs of the neighboring map data created by thefirst display device and the existing map data of the second displaydevice by applying a common global coordinate system corresponding to analigned three-dimensional coordinate space of the neighborhood; andcause the second display device to align movements in aligned coordinatespace with the first display device based on the incorporated map dataand the existing map data of the second display device, wherein thefirst and second display devices are configured to be autonomous robots.18. The server computing device of claim 17, wherein the anchor transferprogram is further configured to: cause the second display device torender and interact with one or more virtual objects and/or virtualspaces at the target virtual place-located anchor at the target virtuallocation from the vantage point of the second display device based onthe incorporated map data and the existing map data of the seconddisplay device.